Being shy about collecting...

I wouldn't say I'm a huge collector, but I love it enough that I have a little bit of a collection going. Most of the things I own are charms and straps that I can keep in a box until I want to use them, but I do have a few things out on display such as figures or magical girl proplica.

Now that I'm getting older, and closer to graduating college and getting a more serious job, I feel like I'm getting more shy about my collection and I get embarrassed sometimes when people bring it up in public. I get mocked a little bit by my family. I feel a little childish having some of the things I have, but it makes me really happy.

I guess I'm a little worried about how it will impact my relationships. I'm single now, but is collecting something you should keep quiet about?? Is it kind of like a turn off??? Is it something you should mention or just be casual about it??

For the older collectors, how do your spouses, s/o's, family react??? How did you handle this with your dating/love life???

I'm a guy in my late twenties and I couldn't care less what anyone thinks of my collecting. It's usually just met with a laugh and a headshake and a few who maybe thought it was weird but I can fortunately say that those closest to me understand that it's just something I enjoy.

I've had girls over a couple times who for the most part either seemed to not even notice or just laugh it off. I haven't dated in years and really don't plan to anymore because I'm just too busy riding motorcycles and doing awesome bromance things and having the freedom to do whatever I want to take on that kind of drama and risk. But with that being said I would never give up something I enjoy doing just to please a partner. I'm happy enough by myself so they can take a hike. Give up too much for someone and you'll actually start resenting them over time.

Do what you enjoy. It's literally hurting nobody. If someone really wants to put you down for it they're not a friend anyway and are probably trying to feel better about their dull, boring "adult life" that they're too afraid of having any fun in. People who can also get enthusiastic about things you like are always more enjoyable to be around in the end.

Thank you everyone for your very kind words and support. It's nice to hear from people in the same position, as well as from people who are very happy and proudly collecting!

I will continue to do what I love and not let the fear get to me! The right person wouldn't let something trivial like this cause an issue in a friendship or relationship. Thank you all again for the wonderful help and confidence boost (*^▽^*)

I'm 21. I just graduated from University early this year, got my first full time job 6 months ago (office job).

I have always wanted to collect figures since I was 15, but I don't want to ask my parents to pay for it (they're expensive).. so I put collecting on hold.

Before I got my full time job, I had a lot of part time jobs, and I manage to saved quite a lot.
After my finance condition is quite stable, I decided to start collecting figures (this happen 2 months ago)

I told my family and friends about it, and although my parents are not happy, they did try to support me since they knew that I always wanted to collect figures.

My siblings and friend is not that supportive, mainly because they know how expensive the figures are (I like to collect scale figures.. so..)
But they didn't mock me or anything.
And when I showed them my collection,they actually think that it's not bad.

I've had some guy friends came over to my place couple of times, some of them seems to find me weird, but some find it cool that I have a hobby that I'm really passionate about.

Anyway, don't worry too much about what other's think. If it makes you happy, it's not harming anyone, and you can still manage your finance well while collecting, then you shouldn't feel embarrassed about it.

just enjoy what you enjoy! i know people who are 40-50 and love playing D&D, people who spend all their money on CDs and music - it's no different! people like what they like and should continue to enjoy what they like without caring what other people think... i used to be super embarrassed... i had all these anime pencil cases and stationary but would never use them in public for fear of people seeing them and making assumptions about me... now i pull out my huge charm covered utapri pouch in the middle of lectures! if people mock you for it ignore them - they obviously have no hobbies or special interests themselves. live your life!!

As people have said before, just go for it and don't care too much what people think. The armed forces can be a stressful place and hobbies and distractions can be a good thing.

I have a Corpsman friend who's a fan of Dragon Ball and has his Gotenks mini figure that his son gave to him, right next to his bed when he was on deployment and even has shirts of it and some mangas stashed away somewhere on base.

I'm a physical therapist and I work with a lot of hot blooded, testosteroned filled, spray tanned sides of beef and yes, I do get flak for it but you know what? **** it. I do what I want because what can they do about it? Nothing.

So stick to what you do, okay? And it's not like it's a "weird" hobby like collecting toenail clippings or other things deemed gross or morbid.

My BF and I have been together for 6+ years now. If I feel like I have a decision to make about a figure/swag item I want, he's usually the one I'll go to to bounce pros and cons off of. He also has his own collection, too, though~
My parents (who super-duper don't understand this hobby) are oddly supportive. They bought me my Detolf for Xmas last year!

Someone who's sincere wouldn't care about something as benign as figure collecting making you happy, I think. :)

I'm 19 years old and have been collecting for almost three years now, and so far my collection has been met with nothing but excitement and awe!

I've made a ton of wonderful new friends that share the same passion for collecting and figure photography as me, and I would say it has brought nothing but good people and good memories into my life! The only bad part about it to me is realizing how much of my little income as a student is being blown away on these plastic recreations of my favorite characters instead of actually saving my money, whoops! ^^'

My family is 100% supportive as well, and a lot of my collection actually consists of figures that they have gifted to me! They didn't really understand it at first, but after they saw how happy it made me along with the photos I was creating with the figures they thought it was a neat little hobby. However, they also scold me about "saving more and spending less on figures because I already have 'enough'" xD

Now, I don't really broadcast my love for anime and figure collecting to people outside of my family, close friends, and my friends that I've met online. It's sort of a "private" hobby, but if someone were to ask me to my face if I collected I wouldn't deny it! I hate to admit it, but I also worry about being "judged" by society for this hobby.

But at the end of the day, I remind myself that figure collecting is, just like any other collection, a hobby. It's nothing to be ashamed of, and if it makes you happy then that's all that matters! Just remember - those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind :)

The more you feel embarrassed about it, the more negative it's going to be seen by other people. There's nothing inherently negative (or positive) about figure collecting, but if you try to hide it away, it will make other people think you're doing something wrong. If you're proud of it... at the very least no one has leverage on you.

That's not to say that you should go around announcing you're a figure collector though, cus that's just volunteering info no one asked for and that's obnoxious.

In terms of dating, I would keep this hobby hushed at first, just because it's very niche and people might get a skewed view of you as a person in case they misunderstand. I meet a lot of very desirable people in my line of work who are actually huge nerds, but they still remain desirable, why? Because they're more than just their nerdy hobbies (if anything that nerdiness ups their charm). You wanna make sure your potential partner learn about you as a person before throwing the more controversial stuff at them.

It could be a turn off in regards to relationships but then again so can anything else. I wouldn’t worry too much about it. A lot of people like to collect things that others might find obscure but that doesn’t mean it’ll stop you from meeting people outside of this hobby that’ll support you.

I’d say do what makes you happy, and let the right people into your life as they come. Don’t be embarrassed about collecting, especially if it brings you joy. Have fun with what you love to do.

Fortunately for me, my family is cool about my collection, granted my figures are pretty well known to them because they use to watch the shows. But for the ones who don’t really dabble into the whole figure stuff, they think it’s neat too. They’re always looking at my display when they come over asking about a new addition or something. My friends are cool with it too even though most don’t collect.

Everybody is different. Some will support you and others won’t, it’s all about not caring and doing what you like to do. Surround yourself with supportive people. It may come from unlikely people/places too. So keep doing you and best of luck with college!

Any hobby or interest a person has will either sound normal or uninteresting to others. For example, if really liked pets or working with animals, and they were my whole world, then I would find people that are also interested in that. I would explain to people like my family, "this is important to me, even if you think it is pointless."

Lots of people like figures and collecting, or at least don't think it is weird. There's also a lot of people that "don't get it" or assume that because it isn't important to them, then it can't be important at all.

Nothing wrong with your hobby! I hope the people in your life can be understanding and act respectfully, even if you have to ask them to.

My figures are like up for public display in our living room so basically everyone that've been there especially my friends has seen it. Note that im a completely different person outside haha you wouldnt know i was obsessed about Love Live till you see my collection. Doesn't really bother me at all quite a few peeps said it was kinda cool haha. But idk i don't really care what people say i do what i wanna haha.